this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the government announces new restrictions to be introduced next week in england, as 2 cases of omicron, a new variant of covid—19, are discovered in the uk. this is the responsible course of action, to slow down the seeding and the spread of this new variant and to maximise our defences. how afghan healthcare is being cut off by the lack of foreign funds, following the seizing of power by the taliban. uniface —— uniface —— unicef are saying women and children could die from malnutrition. it is a

humanitarian catastrophe. the family and friends of one of those who died in the channel when their small boat capsized, tells the bbc that she was kind hearted, and humble. #0kby #0k by mein # 0k by me in america... and the legendary us composer and lyricist, stephen sondheim, who was behind some of broadway's best known musicals, has died at the age of 91. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. cases of the new omicron strain of coronavirus are being detected across europe, with the spread prompting countries around the world to heighten vigilance over the variant. it comes a day after the world health organization described omicron as a "variant

of concern" and potentially more contagious than previous strains. british prime minister borisjohnson has announced fresh measures to halt its spread after health officials confirmed two cases have been detected in england. anyone now arriving from abroad will have to take a pcr test. a european case had already been confirmed in belgium. but now, italian health officials say a case has been confirmed there. germany also confirmed two cases of the omicron variant on saturday. our political correspondent, jonathan blake, begins our coverage. the omicron variant, the most mutated version of coronavirus found so far. first reported in south africa on wednesday, now two cases have been detected in the uk. at a news conference in downing street this evening, the prime minister said much was still unknown, but scientists were learning more about omicron hour by hour.

it does appear that omicron spreads very rapidly and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated. there is also a very extensive mutation which means it diverges quite significantly from previous configurations of the virus and, as a result, it might at least in part, reduce the protection of our vaccinations over time. people would not be stopped from travelling, the prime minister said, although all those arriving in the uk will now need to take a pcr test and isolate until they receive a negative result. rules will be tightened on face coverings in england, borisjohnson said, but masks or already mandatory in certain settings in scotland, wales and northern ireland and there is a significant change in the rules around self isolation. we will require all contacts of those who test positive with a suspected case of omicron to self isolate for ten

days, regardless of your vaccination status. it is likely more adults will be offered boosterjabs and advisers will look again at vaccinating children, but scientists are largely in the dark so far about how quickly the new variant may spread. at the moment, i am afraid, the models are more sort of, if it spreads very fast, of course it is going to spread very fast and go into a lot of places and if it spreads less fast, it is going to do so less, we can't really get much further than that. rising cases have prompted other european countries to reintroduce restrictions. here, the government has consistently said it has no plans for another lockdown, but the option is never ruled out. the prime minister said this christmas will be better than the last, with the rising cases and much unknown about omicron, there are still uncertain times ahead. jonathan blake, bbc news. let's speak to dr marc van ranst, a member of the belgian government's

scientific committee on coronavirus. very good of you to join us today. i appreciate that belgium already has appreciate that belgium already has a confirmed case of this new variant, when it comes to this new variant, when it comes to this new variant, of course we are just in the early stages of finding out about it, but what are your main concern is, how transmissible is it? well, when you look at the situation in south africa, thejohannesburg region, this omicron variant has very successfully managed to replace the already extremely transmissible delta variant, so if they can do that, if the omicron variant can do that, if the omicron variant can do that, then it can probably do it all over the world. you're going to replace a very transmissible virus with an extremely transmissible virus and that in and of itself is worrisome. virus and that in and of itself is worrisome-— virus and that in and of itself is worrisome. . , ., , , worrisome. that is worrisome, but is there a balance. _

worrisome. that is worrisome, but is there a balance, if it— worrisome. that is worrisome, but is there a balance, if it is so _ there a balance, if it is so transmissible, does it then become less deadly?— less deadly? that is what we hope and that is exactly _ less deadly? that is what we hope and that is exactly what _ less deadly? that is what we hope and that is exactly what the - less deadly? that is what we hope and that is exactly what the claim | and that is exactly what the claim in thejohannesburg area is and i would love to believe it, because of that would be the case, it was an extremely transmissible virus but people do not end up in hospital, then you have a way out of this crisis. it can go either way, either it is equally as transmissible as delta and then you are in a real mess, or it is less, less people end “p mess, or it is less, less people end up in hospital and then you do not care if it is more transmissible. that is one thing we will be watching and monitoring. in terms of the way the vaccinations operate with this, what do we know? we heard borisjohnson talking about it, when you are looking at it, are you concerned that the vaccinations we have at the moment will not be as effective against this variant? to be effective against this variant? trr be honest, we do not know. we see that there are a lot of mutations in

these mutations are in the area that binds to human cells. that is what is extremely important for the immunity, so one paper, you might think that the vaccination might work less against this omicron variant, but the proof is a meeting of the pudding and in a couple of weeks we will know for sure. we are seeinu weeks we will know for sure. we are seeing different _ weeks we will know for sure. we are seeing different countries _ weeks we will know for sure. we are seeing different countries react - weeks we will know for sure. we are seeing different countries react in i seeing different countries react in different ways and introducing travel bans and restrictions. is there is the right way of trying to cut this down? if it is as transmissible as you say, it is inevitable, there is an inevitability that it will cross borders as we saw with the delta variant? ~ , ., .., , borders as we saw with the delta variant? ~ , ., , , , variant? well, you can be sure it is already here- _ variant? well, you can be sure it is already here. it _ variant? well, you can be sure it is already here. it is _ variant? well, you can be sure it is already here. it is in _ already here. it is in every european country, you're not really going to be able to keep it completely limited to a small number of cases. it will go up. however,

you want to close the import of cases as much as you can and that is why i can understand short—lived, short—term travel ban, however when you do that, we have to acknowledge thatis you do that, we have to acknowledge that is really unfair to a country with superb laboratories and virologist to this quite rapidly. they were completely transparent and honest about it. that is not the way to deal with it. if we have a travel ban then i would suggest that we send planes there with a lot of vaccinations in order to help the population, because those countries, half of the population is vaccinated, but when you go and look at the developing world, in africa, less than 6% of the population is vaccinated and a travel ban, yes, but short lived and in the meantime, said vaccinations. fix, but short lived and in the meantime, said vaccinations.— said vaccinations. a good point on which to add- _

said vaccinations. a good point on which to add. a _ said vaccinations. a good point on which to add. a member - said vaccinations. a good point on which to add. a member of - said vaccinations. a good point on which to add. a member of the i which to add. a member of the belgian government scientific committee on coronavirus. thank you for your time. committee on coronavirus. thank you foryourtime. he committee on coronavirus. thank you for your time. he mentioned south africa. passengers in south africa have been scrambling to find flights out of the country as world leaders announce tighter border controls. the netherlands says 61 people who arrived in amsterdam on two flights from south africa have tested positive for covid—i9. further testing is being carried out to see if they are cases of the omicron variant. caroline davies reports. it is all taking... stuck on an aeroplane as the authorities grapple with what to do next. jack was one of 600 passengers who were stopped at shippable airport yesterday after flying from south africa. they were kept in the terminal for hours waiting for the results of new pcr test. jack is one of 61 people the authorities have said

are positive despite being double jabbed and testing negative before flying. people were crying, babies were crying, and the said, you're going to a quarantine hotel in amsterdam and we were put into the back of a van, a minibus kind of van, that had come to be fair, it looked like clingfilm or sheets or something hanging from the top, two guys in the front in hazmat suits. have you been told what will happen next? i've not had any e—mails, no text messages. no phone calls or anything, nothing at all. the airport says it was a unique situation and they had done their best to make sure people were comfortable. around the world countries are closing their borders to rivals from southern africa including the usa. we are going to be cautious, make sure there is no travel to and from south africa

or countries in that region, except for american citizens who are able to come back. over the course of the last few months travel has been opening up, as the doors close trying to get uk nationals out of southern africa before quarantine hotels start tomorrow is a struggle. south africa is a huge definition for business and visiting friends and relatives, there is lots of stress for passengers, and many of them will not be able to get home because there is not the flight up lift to get them back before quarantine comes in. there are still many questions about the omicron variant, while scientists around the world what to answer them, the world's government is struggling to buy more time. emma brennan is from abta, the association of british travel agents. iam assuming i am assuming that you are hearing a

lot of concern from your sector. well, we understand, from the point of view of the government, but public health is the number one priority. we have an evolving situation and they are taking the steps they feel that are necessary to protect the vaccination programme but that is having a knock—on effect on passengers coming back from those countries who have now been moved to the red less. in countries who have now been moved to the red less-— the red less. in terms of the feedback — the red less. in terms of the feedback you're _ the red less. in terms of the feedback you're getting - the red less. in terms of the feedback you're getting at l the red less. in terms of the i feedback you're getting at the moment, when it comes to this initial, getting passengers back before the deadline comes in, what are you hearing from travel operators? are you hearing from travel operators?— are you hearing from travel operators? are you hearing from travel 0 erators? , ., , ., ., operators? the people who are travellin: operators? the people who are travelling at — operators? the people who are travelling at the _ operators? the people who are travelling at the moment - operators? the people who are travelling at the moment are i operators? the people who are - travelling at the moment are those who will have been visiting mainly family and friends, a holiday mix as well and it is a small number of countries on the red list and a lot of passengers are able to travel as normal. travel is still open, but

what we are saying is further developments, a pcr test instead of a lateral flow test when you're coming back, still waiting to hear one that will be introduced. this is the setback really for the industry and when things were starting to pick up and looking much more positive, we have got this setback at the moment and we are hoping this is temporary. we hope they are precautionary measures, but it is closely under review and they will want to act as quickly as possible if they establish a uk vaccination programme is under threat. ianthem if they establish a uk vaccination programme is under threat. when it comes to the _ programme is under threat. when it comes to the pcr _ programme is under threat. when it comes to the pcr test _ programme is under threat. when it comes to the pcr test that - programme is under threat. when it | comes to the pcr test that the prime minister announced earlier, what kind of reaction do you think you will get from people who are travelling, because it was a lot easier tojust travelling, because it was a lot easier to just do the lateral flow test and cheaper in many circumstances as well. now that the pcr is back on the table, what kind

of concerns do you have? i pcr is back on the table, what kind of concerns do you have?— of concerns do you have? i think if ou are of concerns do you have? i think if you are not _ of concerns do you have? i think if you are not fully _ of concerns do you have? i think if you are not fully vaccinated, - of concerns do you have? i think if you are not fully vaccinated, there j you are not fully vaccinated, there is no change here, you still have to have a pcr test.— have a pcr test. emma,... 0, we get the list have a pcr test. emma,... 0, we get the gist for— have a pcr test. emma,... 0, we get the gist for you — have a pcr test. emma,... 0, we get the gist for you are _ have a pcr test. emma,... 0, we get the gist for you are saying, _ have a pcr test. emma,... 0, we get the gist for you are saying, but - have a pcr test. emma,... 0, we get the gist for you are saying, but we . the gist for you are saying, but we just lost you. we are going to leave it there, but emma brennan speaking on behalf of the association of british travel agents, thank you for sharing with us your opinions and also the insight from the travel industry as well. this was with regards to the announcements made earlier on by borisjohnson. more details and a little bit more clarity on a website as well if you would like to check that out. now we will move onto another story. as officials in france work to identify the 27 people, who died in the english channel this

week when their small boat capsized, the bbc has been hearing from the family and friends of one of victims. maryam nuri mohamed amin was a 2k year old kurdish woman, from northern iraq. she was trying to reach the uk, to be with her partner. lucy williamson has more details. she left to start a new life with her fiance. video from her engagement party less than a year ago still stored on her relatives' phones. maryam nuri mohamed amin tried several times to get a visa to join her partner in the uk, before deciding to surprise him by trying to get there another way. she was messaging him when the boat began to lose air. in northern iraq, the anger of the family showed through their grief. her mother and sister, inconsolable. translation: going to britain is very difficult, she tried to get to l britain legally twice. she went to the british embassy but the process

was delayed. she was forced to go the way she did. herfriend, iman, left to absorb the news of her death. her humanity was so good, always advising me and she was like someone i looked up to for advice. no one should try this. no one. no one deserves to die in this way. but this disaster, it has changed little in the minds of people living in migrant camps here. they are waiting for the right weather conditions to make the samejourney, take the same risks. there has been a lot of finger pointing across the channel over who is to blame for the growing crisis. european interior ministers are due to meet tomorrow to discuss the problem, but the british home secretary has been dis—invited, in the middle of a diplomatic feud between the prime minister, boris johnson, and the french president, emmanuel macron. investigations have begun to identify the other victims,

but questions are also being asked about why help never arrived and more broadly, ahead of the meeting tomorrow, why after all the diplomacy, all the deterrence, lives are still being risked and lost in a narrow stretch of sea. lucy williamson, bbc news, calais. when the taliban swept to power in afghanistan, they inherited an economy which was heavily reliant on foreign aid — large parts of the health service were entirely funded by the world bank. all of that has now changed. the bbc�*s world affairs editor, john simpson, travelled to a clinic in the hills south of kabul. the clinic here in musayyib is typical of the local health care system that was built up in the last 20 years with foreign help. not much to look at maybe, but highly effective.

and then the taliban got back into power. instantly, the world bank, which had been paying for almost the whole of afghanistan's health care, cut off the flow of cash to the country. this is the result. up to nine million people could be on the verge of famine. unicef was saying up to one million children could die of malnutrition. it's a humanitarian catastrophe is what it is. with no international money coming in, clinics like this are in dire trouble. this is the pharmacy. normally, the cupboards would be packed with medicines. now they're running out really fast. the collapsing economy and the foreign sanctions against the taliban mean people can't buy food. the result is malnutrition, and it's starting with the children.

translation: there will be a huge health crisis. - there will be no medicine and people will face massive problems. even health care staff will leave. the health care services will collapse. we will start to see lots of mothers and children dying. as winter approaches, the cuts which the world bank and foreign governments have introduced are having a greater and greater effect. in offices and government ministries, thousands of miles away from here, serious men and women are taking decisions to try to force the taliban to behave better in government. but it's these people here right down on the ground who are paying the price for those decisions. it will take time for the outside world's financial pressure to have an effect on the taliban — if it even does. their guerrilla fighters, after all,

used to living rough. it's the ordinary people of afghanistan with no resources and no protection who will suffer. john simpson, bbc news, musayyib. sport and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. we're starting with football and the english premier league where liverpool flexed their muscles for another big scoring win — this time a—nil against southampton. liverpool were in complete control. diogojota scored twice followed by one each for alcantara and van dijk. liverpool are now second in the table, a point behind chelsea who play on sunday. i think that the statistics say that southampton scored the majority of the goals in the first 20 minutes. it is a challenge. they can look

rusty in the beginning. i don't want to sound disrespectful, just happens in the game. today we were there from the first second and that was helpful. eddie howe was in the dug out for the first time for newcastle but his side are still bottom after arsenal eventually broke them down at home. bukayo saka and pierre—emerick aubameyang scoring the goals for arsenal who stay fifth, while newcastle are five points adrift of safety without a single win this season. elsewhere in the premier league, norwich matched wolves in a goalless draw at carrow road. brighton/leeds was also nil—nil. and steven gerrard made it 2 wins from 2 as aston villa manager with victory over crystal palace. in spain, barcelona are hoping to make it back—to—back la liga wins under new head coach xavi. they're currently i—nil up at villa real.

barca are currently seventh, 10 points behind leaders real madrid. bayern munich are back on top of the german bundesliga — leroy sane scoring a brilliant winner against armenia bielefeld. they're a point ahead of borussia dortmund who beat wolfsberg — scorer erling haaland becoming the youngest player to reach 50 goals in bundesliga history at 21 years and 129 days old. and inter milan will be hoping to continue their good form against venezia — the reigning serie a champions are i—nil up and hoping to close—in on the top two. earlier, atalanta beatjuventus i—nil in turin to keep up the pressure on the top of the table. the new covid variant is playing havoc with sport in southern africa. a qualifying tournament in zimbabwe for the women's cricket world cup has been abandoned. teams will now go through on rankings which means ireland, sri lanka, bangladesh, pakistan and west indies will all play at next year's world cup. zimbabwe is one of several african countries with new travel restrictions imposed on them due

to the omnicron variant. meanwhile the men's one—day international series between the netherlands and hosts south africa has been postponed. onto tennis, and world number one — novak djkovic stretched his decade long unbeaten singles record in the davis cup as he helped serbia to a 3—nil win over austria on the third day of the finals. the man who beat him to this year's us open title — daniil medvedev powered the russian team to an unassailable 2—0 lead over ecuador. cameron norrie sealed a 2—1 win over france for great britain to keep alive their quarter final hopes. there were also wins for kazakhstan and australia. the davis cup finals are being held across three cities, with the semi—finals and finals held in madrid next week. and finally.. here's probably the definition of a grudge match .. brooks koepka taking—on his adversary bryson dechambeau in the fifth edition of golf�*s �*the match' in las vegas. the players�* bitter rivalry have dominated the sport's headlines

for the best part of a year, although they temporarily put aside their differences to help team usa dominate the ryder cup. de chambeau's putting let him down this time though and koepka won, only needing nine of the scheduled 12 holes for victory. obviously watching him, it was pretty neat and pretty special, there is respect there, but at the same time, it was fun to come out here and settle this and enough said. , , , . ., here and settle this and enough said. , ,, ,, said. did we 'ust become best friends? said. did we just become best friends? no. _ that's all the sport for now. tributes from across the world of musical theatre have been paid to the composer and lyricist stephen sondheim — who has died at the age of 91.

#0kby #ok by mein # ok by me in america... he wrote the lyrics for "west side story" and scores to many of the last century's most successful musicals, including a little night music and sweeney todd. actress ruthie henshall described how she felt when she heard the news. i was absolutely devastated, because stephen sondheim is somebody who really is a hands—on composer, lyricist, and, let's be honest, how many people who write musicals, write the lyrics as well? but he is so hands—on and the fact that he won't be there to guide us devastating for us. we will be up in manchester without him and that is sad. i mean, if you think about, this man is a professor of the human condition. he just understands how to get what we feel out onto a piece of paper and through a piano.

you know, he was such a big part of putting it together on broadway, which i did with carol burnett and actually, it was the first preview where i completely forgot the lyrics, his lyrics, had to stop the show and start again, put all the props back in the right place and he was in the audience! what a fantastic story. we'll take a look at tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — our guests joining me tonight are the broadcasterjo phillips — and nigel nelson — political editor of the sunday mirror and the people. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. hello.

many of us have been feeling the impact of storm arwen. snow for some, strong winds for many, although those costs reached almost 100mph across parts of northumberland and in excess of 90mph across devon. now, the area of low pressure responsible for arwen is now pulling away south and eastwards into the west of the uk and pressure is trying to build and what that means is that through this evening and overnight, the strongest winds will begin to ease down, but still some gusts initially of 50 or 60mph. the eastern and western coasts, still this wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow across scotland, down the east coast, some showers for parts of wales and south—west england, they will continue overnight, but that wintry mix will tend to become confined to east and south—east england, clear skies behind it, meaning frost and ice risk before rain, sleet and snow pushes back in the north—west scotland and northern ireland later. temperatures for many will be below freezing, a widespread frost, staying above freezing across east and south—east england

and then later in the night, across northern ireland. an ice risk across scotland, northern england and the midlands, through tomorrow, the area of rain, sleet and snow, originating in scotland, pulling its way southwards through the day. behind and ahead of it, there will be some sunshine, still those wintry showers continuing along some eastern coasts, where the winds will still be gusty, but crucially the winds are much lighter tomorrow for many, but still a noticeable wind—chill as some temperatures are going to struggle to get much above two or 3 celsius. a little bit higher the further west you are. that area of rain, sleet and snow continues south through tomorrow evening, clearing away and behind it again, clear skies for many, frost and in places and ice risk, for cloud and rain starts to move back in to scotland and northern ireland. we start monday for many cold and frosty, but already something a little bit less cold pushing in from the north and west, courtesy of this warm front and that will be pushing its way across the uk, through monday and into tuesday. starting off in scotland, where initially we could see some snow in parts of the grampians and southern uplands, soon becoming rain. ahead of this, most of us

will have a mainly dry day through much of northern ireland, northern england into wales, central and southern england, but still on the cold side, particularly across east and south—east england, turning milder from the west and that is the theme on tuesday. it will be less cold, but it will be wet and windy, cold with wintry showers by wednesday.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: the government announces new restrictions to be introduced next week — as 2 cases of omicron — a new variant of covid—19 — are discovered in the uk. people in england will now once again have to wear face masks on public transport and in shops.

all contacts of suspected omicron cases must